The day after Christmas, my family went out for lunch and to spend some of the gift cards we received. In one store, we noticed a father and son. The dad had on a mask, which isn’t surprising since the city where we went leans far more to the left than most places around it, but so did the son, who couldn’t have been more than four years old.
It’s been three years since COVID-19 came onto the scene. When it first started to spread through our communities, many people put on masks because the “experts” told them to — and in some cases, authorities mandated that people wear them. People of all ages put on masks because they didn’t know better, but neither did the government officials who believed the “experts.”
Nowadays, it’s not unusual to see the occasional mask-wearer, though they’re certainly in the minority. Once in a while, you’ll even see children and toddlers wearing masks. Some people aren’t going to let go of that fearful pandemic mindset no matter how long it has been since the most menacing waves of COVID came and went.
A recent poll from Tippinsights and Issue & Insights showed that nearly 40% of voters think that masking children under age 5 is a good idea. While that’s a startling statistic, some data points show why that number makes some sense.
The report notes:
While the poll found that 40% of adults think masking 5-year-olds is OK, that’s only because 56% of Democrats say that. Among Republicans, just 24% (incorrectly) think it’s a good idea, and 31% of independents think the same.
The poll also provides convincing evidence that knowledge and wisdom are not the same thing.
For example, more college-educated people (44%) approve of masking children compared with 39% of those with a high school education. The poll found 48% of those making more than $75,000 are mask-approvers, compared with 39% of those making less than $30,000.
The Issues & Insights editorial board has harsh words for those who believe the hype about masks.
“Shame on you for ignoring the data about who is at risk from COVID. For failing to put this risk in perspective,” the board writes. “And shame on you for ignoring the long-term psychological damage you’re inflicting on the next generation.”
For Our VIPs: Masking Up Now. Masking Up Forever After.
The board also has some data to back up its assertion. “The CDC puts the current number of COVID-related deaths nationwide at 1.1 million people,” it writes. “Can you guess how many of them were children under age 5? 643.”
That data also shows that, during the same time period, over 6,000 kids in that age range died from preventable injuries. More children died from drowning, cancer, or homicides than from COVID. That’s not to make light of any of those deaths, but the data does demonstrate that COVID is a minuscule risk compared to the issues that children face every day.
The board quotes a report from NPR (of all sources), which says, “Numerous scientific papers have established that it can be harder to hear and understand speech and identify facial expressions and emotions when people are wearing masks.” NPR also points out that the World Health Organization and Europe’s version of the CDC don’t recommend masking children that young.
So why do so many people think it’s okay to mask little children?
“Why has the public been so widely misled about masking young children? Well, think about it,” the board writes. “Government institutions, public schools, and media outlets are controlled by liberal Democrats, most of whom think that strapping uncomfortable, ineffective, and long-term-damaging masks on children is a good idea.”
Too many people don’t want to think for themselves or put the long-term well-being of their little kids first. And that’s definitely a shame.
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